Saint Arnold Brewing Company's Divine Reserve No. 11

Hey--y'all wouldn't happen to know where there's a local beer store that has a few bottles of DR 11 squirreled away for sale, would you?

I do. Suck it.

I'm glad to buy a few singles of this, since the DR 6 was a complete disaster in my opinion. I know it wasn't in your opinion. Feel free to write your opinions down somewhere. And yes, I know 6 was a barley wine and 11 is an imperial IPA. But you'll be hard pressed to point out any substantive differences in the two styles.

This one, however, is sitting next to me in a glass smelling much better than DR 6. It seems to be malt-forward so far, with a bigger, sweeter malt profile in the smell than you could ever get through the pine sap in a glass that they called DR 6. Big body with a nice solid bitterness that doesn't drown out everything else. Great malt backbone in what I would call a malt-forward barleywine or IIPA.

Probably the best beer St. A's has ever made. Much better than their standards, and with increased capacity I look forward to bigger batches and maybe even bombers of their bigger beers like this.

/relieved

Front Porch Pub

I was headed out of downtown today, and thought I'd stop in for a burger and to see what beers they have on tap. Sure, it's not a "real" beer bar, but what the hell.

First of all--hot bartender. 24-ish, former college soccer player with soccer player legs. Nice.

Food seemed to be the regular pub grub, no surprise there. They had a small tap-wall with a lot of the Budweiser/Heineken types, but they had a decent selection of St. Arnold and Real Ale that made it worth the visit.

St. Arnold Stout: This is the first time I've had it on draft except at a brew tour. For some reason, it's a little richer, little smoother, little heavier, little nuttier. All around it's better on draft. The nut-brown taste was a surprise, but didn't take it out of the type.

Real Ale's Rio Blanco Pale Ale: This was also better on draft. Still crisp and light, it's got a good zip to it. Nice pale, and I'll have to get it more regularly.

Real Ale's Fireman's #4: This one was not as good as I remember it being in the bottle. It seemed a bit flat, a bit hollow. Seemed like it was a bit old, probably because it's not a terribly fast mover.

Brock Wagner on PBS

I know nobody reads this, but in case you do and they recycle today's episode of Profile With Greg Scheinman, you should give it a look.

If you try to DRV it, it's episode 8 and is incorrectly listed as featuring Patrick Henry.

Saint Arnold Brewing Company's Brown Ale

This one always looks like an amber to me. It pours a coppery amber with a light tan head that stays fairly well and moderate carbonation.

Smells like it should though. Bready and slightly nutty, it's straightforward and simple.

Light bodied but smooth, this is a very good beer for times when you want something bigger than a macro but not hoppy or heavy. Light to moderate bitterness that isn't really distinctive and doesn't weigh it down, with a good malt backbone that stays bready but also manages to stay light in feel.

For a long time this was my favorite Saint Arnold offering, but I think it now regularly rotates between this, the amber and the wheat, depending on which one I'm drinking at the time. Today, this one is it.

Saint Arnold Brewing Company's Christmas Ale

You know, I've always had this in a bottle. I'll be damned if it isn't a completely different beer in a glass.

Pours a coppery amber, a surprise to me because I always envisioned it as much lighter in color, although the brown bottle left no way of telling. Big, very light tan head that stays well and never completely goes away due to decent carbonation.

Initially, as it was throwing off that huge head, it was very vinous, and had a very strong acidic, tannic smell like a vineragy red wine. That faded to a great malty smell, slightly bready and slightly spicy. Very slightly though, which is a good thing because as I mention with other old ales or warmers, spices are easily overdone in beer.

In the past I always commented that this one tasted like a strong Coors. I've had it quite a bit, and it always seemed like that. This time, though, it's much closer to a winter warmer. But not overly spiced, like many of them are, and it relies on hops (even with only 35 IBU's), instead of the spices normally associated with warmers. So, it's right in line with the way an old ale should be. A non-descript bitterness lingers slightly in the aftertaste, but in general this one is more malty than bitter, slightly spicy.

Good beer. Not sure if I like it in a bottle or a glass more, but in a glass it's much truer to style.

Saint Arnold Brewing Company's Texas Wheat

This beer has a short, but interesting history. Not only was it mentioned as one of Michael Jackson's favorite American beers, but it's a great example of marketing in Texas. So, what do you do when you have a craft beer (or anything, for sale in Texas, really) that's not selling too well? Call it "Texas ________." Your sales will pretty much instantly double.

This one pours a light yellowish amber with a good white head for a wheat. Most of them fade pretty quickly, but this one sticks, in part due to decent carbonation but in general it just stays.

Smells zippy, exactly like a wheat should. Slightly sweet, very mildly bitter (with a barely perceptible 18 IBU's), but more than anything crisp, and uncluttered.

Same taste--clean and more tart than bitter. Grainy wheat taste that is more if a rough grain than refined bread taste. And of course, it's got the wheat zip that makes it finish dry and clean.

Drink it cold, because as it warms the taste gets a bit more dull, and isn't as clean.